Juan Nepomuceno Cortina is considered as the heroic villain of the Texas border during 19th century. This website covers a brief history, the Cortina Wars, and an analysis.

Juan Cortina

Brownsville

History- Coronita backround and problems that emerged from Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoCortina was born on May 16, 1824 in Camargo, Tamaulipas . He was the son of Estefana and Trinidad Cortina, his mother had inherited a large and grant in the lower Rio Grande valley surrounding Brownsville.In his early life he moved to this area and his career as a warrior began.He participated in the Mexican War as an irregular cavalry unit at the battles of Resaca De La Palma and Palo Duro under General Mariano Arista and fought against General Zachary Taylor's troops.(Thompson)After the Treaty of Hidalgo, in which all rights were guaranteed for Mexicans who stayed behind, the situation for many worsened. Because many Meixcans were unfamiliar with the newly implemented American Law system, they quickly began to be treated as inferior.( Vargas 123)

In Texas, unlike California and Arizona, the state government entered the union with control over all its public land.A common problem for Mexicans was the that the land was being appropriated or confiscated, through a high tax system which Mexicans couldn't afford , and then being resold to Anglo settlers or wealthy Mexicans. Another problem was that Anglo's did not respect the original land claims granted by the land grants of the colonial era(Vargas 124). This land controversy was the result of Mexicans being deemed as inferiors and therefore not worthy of the lands they sustained, and it was also the cause of the First Cortina War.

Cortina's allegiance shifted from Mexican to American. After the war Cortina worked as a contractor in the U.S. Quartermaster Corps for a brief period, paradoxically serving the army he fought against in the Mexican-American War.(Vargas 124)He was also involved in a few filibuster expeditions which sought to make their own "Republic of the Sierra Madre" country but it was a failure.(Vargas 125)After the death of his father , in 1855, he moved to the Espiritu Santo land grant which is in the southern Nueces strip.There he began his cattle ranching life and began participating in politics. He was popular among Mexicans , other Vaqueros who nicknamed him "Cheno", and very few Anglo including the famous Sam Houston.(Vargas 125)(At one point in his life Cortina disliked Sam Houston, but later on Houston counted on Cortina to prevent Texas from seceding , as they both opposed slavery.)Cortina's involvement with regular Mexican people of the time allowed for him to see first hand and experience some of the injustices practiced against them, this is the basis of his retaliation and a major reason for the Coronita Wars.

The Battle of Rio Grande City

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Cortina War Begins

On July 13, 1859 Juan Cortina became the Robbin Hood of the border to some and a hated villain to others. While in Brownsville Cortina witnessed the humiliation of a former employee , in which Bob Spears an ex-Texan-Ranger pistol whipped the victim until he bled, and decided to avenge the injustice. Cortina Shot spears, took care of his former employee , and fled to Mexico. Two months later Cortina led over seventy followers, most of them Tejanos, and attacked Brownsville. In this attack they freed a dozen jailed Tejanos, killed three Anglos, and rode out while shouting "Mueran los gringos".(Vargas 125)Cortina was a smart man, having learned techniques from the Americans he issued his Pronunciamento, in which he cited his reasons for his actions. (See Proclamation I. and II.)A few days after the incident a town group captured Tomas Cabrera an ally of Cortina and formed the Brownsville tigers. The tigers along with a Matamoros militia and two small canons failed an attempt attack on Cortina. Cortina demanded that Cabrera be set free and threatened to burn the town but his captain William G. Tobin rebuffed his request and hung Cabrera. (Thompson)On Novermber 23, 1859, following the incident ,Cortina issued another proclamation in which he pledged to defend the rights that were guaranteed by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. (Vargas 125)As more and more Tejanos began to suffer at the hands of Anglos, Cortina vowed that he and his men would fight back in the name of justice all the way from Brownsville to Eagle Pass, Texas. And thus the 10 year Cortina War begun.Cortina periodically raided Anglo towns while being chased by the Texas Rangers. His force grew to about 400 men as additional Tejanos joined the movement . On December 27,1859, Cortina battled against American troops under the Major S.P. Heintzelman and Texas Rangers led by John "Rip" Ford in what became known as the battle of Rio Grande City. He lost this battle and fled to Mexico.(Vargas 125)Cortina came back to La Bolsa and area below Rio Grande City where he tried to capture a steamboat named "ranchero" but was stopped by Major Ford. Soon after Colonel Robert E. Lee traveled to the area to restore peace , and even threatened to invade Mexico if necessary, only to find out that Cortina had fled to the Burgos Mountains in which he hid for more than a year.(Thompson)

Cortina War

While the United States was having a civil war , Cortina fought on behalf of the Union and became a Hero. In May 1861 he encountered Santos Benavides in Zapata county but was defeated. In1860 he joined the liberal army that supported Benito Juarez. He became Juarez's military commander In 1862 Cortina defended San Lorenzo,Puebla and Tamaulipas and became military governor and mayor of Matamoros during the French intervention. (Thompson)Cortina was rising up the ranks of the Mexican government but when he turned against Mexican republican leaders his political doings collapsed. In 1870 Cortina returned to the border with a petition that asked for forgiveness to the State of Texas for his crimes but the pardon petition failed. In 1871 his petition's second hearing also failed. The failure occurred the civil war was fresh in the minds of Texans and Texas was a southern state. Ultimately Cortina's participation on behalf of the union, which is known as the second Coronita War, is what cause the rejection of his petition.In 1876 Mexican authorities arrested Cortina on the basis that he was a cattle bandit. Cortina escaped prison but was caught on the border by Mexican authorities. He was court-martialed and ordered to be executed, but intervention by Porfirio Diaz resulted in Cortina's survival and house arrest for the rest of his life. (Vargas 126)

Reasons,Impact & Heroic Villain

Juan Cortina was born in the midst of change. Mexico's recent independence(1824) probably made him a proud (nationalism) Mexican. He grew in an area in colonial lifestyle, in which raids were common, always having to protect himself. It was also a time in which southern Anglos with their supremacy ideology crossed over into Mexican Texas. As Texas gained independence (1836) and joined the union (1845) Coronita's influence , like that of many Mexicans', dwindled and Anglos began to have greater influence. All these factors are crucial to understanding why Cortina commited his actions.

In the immediate time Cortina's actions prompted many Tejanos to join his fight but in the long run it caused a lot of hardship for Tejanos in Texas. It caused retaliation by Anglos for decades to come , remembering the actions of Cortina. Although his fight was ethic and by all means reasonable , it caused Tejanos to feel the wrath of the Anglo until the 20th century.

The Cortina War was one in which Juan Cortina protected the rights granted by the Treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The second part of the Cortina war was one in which he fought against Confederate Texas on behalf of the union. Because of these two "wars" Cortina is seen as a villain and a hero.He is considered a villain because he opposed Texan and American forces , but he is considered a hero because he defended the rights of his people and he fought against the confederacy on behalf of the Union. The fact that he fought for equality against discrimination makes him an American hero because he challenged Democracy to make it better in the future.